Vitamins postnatal

Why Breastfeed 220 Drugs and Breast Milk 222 Postdelivery Essentials 226 Postnatal Vitamins 227 Vaccines 228... 

Breast-fed newborns (little intestinal flora, breast milk very low in vitamin K), especially in a home-birth where a postnatal injection of vitamin K may not be given... 

Cataracts (Mestitzova 1967) and decreased postnatal survival (Green 1970) were reported in the progeny of rats fed diets containing heptachlor in intermediate- and chronic-duration studies. Data were insufficient to further evaluate these studies. Although the authors did not offer a mechanism, they did rule out vitamin B deficiency in the development of the cataracts. Because cataracts have... 

Decreased weight gain, liver enlargement, thymus atrophy, and reduced ability to store vitamin A in young Sprague Dawley rats 10 g/kg on postnatal day 0 Hakansson et al. 1987... 

Over the first 6 weeks of postnatal life, the plasma concentrations of clotting factors gradually rise to the adult level in the meantime, they are at risk of potentially fatal hemorrhage that was formerly called hemorrhagic disease of the newborn and is now known as vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infancy. It is usual to give all newborn infants prophylactic vitamin K, either orally or by intramuscular injection (Sutor et al., 1999). At one time, menadione was used, but, because of the association between menadione and childhood leukemia (Section 5.6.1), phylloquinone is preferred. 

A typical RA-receptor is the receptor fiar vitamin A (all-mtws retinol). Vitamin A is essential for pre-and postnatal development. Congenital vitamin A deficiencies are accompanied by a broad spectrum of malformations. In adult life, vitamin A is indispensable for growth, maintenance, and survival of many tissues. It is necessary for vision and reproduction. A lack of vitamin A in the adult causes night blindness and photoreceptor degeneration. But the devel-... 

Ishibashi, S., Schwarz, M., Frykman, RK., Herz, J., Russell, D.W. 1996. Disruption of cholesterol 7ot-hydroxylase gene in mice. I. Postnatal lethality reversed by bile acid and vitamin supplementation. J. Biol. Chem. 271 18017-18023. 

The hepatic vitamin A levels observed by Guerrant for rats of various ages are presented in Fig. 2 the results indicate that the concentration more than doubled during the first 7 days of postnatal life and then re-... 

The requirement of vitamin K is unknown but is apparently minute and easily supplied by an average diet, in addition to the amount synthesized by intestinal bacteria, except in the newborn infant. The infant needs supplementary vitamin K during the first few days of life unless the mother has received the vitamin prior to delivery. A single oral dose of 1 mg. appears to be sufficient to prevent postnatal decrease in prothrombin. There is recent evidence suggesting that vitamin K has functions other than formation of prothrombin and probably should be administered to the mother during the latter part of pregnancy. If the mother has not received vitamin K, a suitable dose for the infant at birth is 1 mg. as a single dose. Actually, much less would be sufficient as the daily requirement of the infant is approximately 1... 

Sharma HS, Misra UK (1986) Postnatal distribution of vitamin A in liver, lung, heart and brain of the rat in relation to maternal vitamin A status. Biol Neonate 50 345-350... 

Supplements of vitamin Bg ranging from 25 to 500mg/day, and sometimes higher, have been recommended for treatment of a variety of conditions in which there is an underlying physiological or biochemical mechanism to justify the use of supplements, although in most cases there is little evidence of efficacy. Such conditions include postnatal depression, depression and other side effects associated with oral contraceptives, hyperemesis of pregnancy, and the premenstrual syndrome. 

One of the relatively common side effects of oestrogenic oral contraceptives is depression, affecting about 6% of women in some studies. This frequently responds well to the administration of relatively large amounts of vitamin Bg (generally in excess of 40 mg per day). Postnatal depression also responds to similar supplements in some studies. 

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